{"product_id":"the-word-for-sorrow-9781844719655","title":"The Word for Sorrow","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorking on Ovid’s extraordinary but often much-neglected exile poetry with an old second-hand Latin dictionary one stormy spring morning, Josephine Balmer noticed a school-boy’s faded name inked on its fly-leaf and a date, January 1st 1900. \u003cem\u003eThe Word for Sorrow\u003c\/em\u003e explores the story of this dictionary and its owner, who, as a subsequent Google search uncovered, later fought with the British yeomanry in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign of World War I, near Ovid’s own Black Sea exile. Alongside versions and interpretations of Ovid’s \u003cem\u003eTristia\u003c\/em\u003e – the text the dictionary translates – soldiers’ original diaries and letters from Gallipoli provide another rich vein of source material for the original poems of the volume, which also follows Balmer’s own journey as she excavates these entwined narratives, underscoring how the emotional charge of the past still resonates down through the centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike \u003cem\u003eChasing Catullus\u003c\/em\u003e, Balmer’s acclaimed first collection, \u003cem\u003eThe Word for Sorrow\u003c\/em\u003e explores an interplay between translation and original, text and translator, past and present, giving new resonance to ancient grief. An engaging detective story in verse, the work traces the invisible lines that connect us to often surprising points in history, finding common ground in unexpected places, forging often unexpected links between past and present.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Ovid’s Rome to the blood-soaked trenches of Gallipoli, its powerful and engaging poems give voice to the universal suffering of exile, war and grief, celebrating the enduring common humanity that binds us across countries and over centuries, whether we live at the beginning of the first, the twentieth or the twenty-first century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Word for Sorrow\u003c\/em\u003e crosses boundaries between poetry and translation as versions from Ovid’s \u003cem\u003eTristia\u003c\/em\u003e converse with new poems that reflect on experiences behind and beyond them, such as the doomed Allied campaign at Gallipoli during World War I, focusing on weavings of life and text across history towards resonating constants of humanity ... Balmer poignantly reflects T.S. Eliot’s explanations of the ‘mind of the poet’, the sensibility that connects disparities, locating and effecting meaningful wholes.’\u003c\/p\u003e -- Paschalis Nikolaou * Norwich Papers *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Word for Sorrow\u003c\/em\u003e crosses boundaries between poetry and translation as versions from Ovid’s \u003cem\u003eTristia\u003c\/em\u003e converse with new poems that reflect on experiences behind and beyond them, such as the doomed Allied campaign at Gallipoli during World War I, focusing on weavings of life and text across history towards resonating constants of humanity ... Balmer poignantly reflects T.S. Eliot’s explanations of the ‘mind of the poet’, the sensibility that connects disparities, locating and effecting meaningful wholes.’\u003c\/p\u003e -- Paschalis Nikolaou * Norwich Papers *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreface\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProem: Small Town Fete\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne: The Journey Out\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso’s Book Back in Rome\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHail\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso All at Sea\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDancing in the Dark\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso’s Last Night\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMalvern Road Station, Cheltenham\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Horses\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBy the Dardanelles\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Sees the End of the Beginning\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBusiness\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo: Landed\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLanded\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Off the Shelf\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBetween the Lines\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKnocking at the Door\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Writes his Own Epitaph\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmong the Graves: Green Hill, Gallipoli\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso’s Plight Hits Home\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDigging In\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Sees Hell Freeze Over\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHell Hole\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLast Orders\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Lost for Words\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThread\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThree: The Way Home\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDictionary Definitions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Sees Action\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWelcome Note\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso Looks to the Stars\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmong the Graves: Ampney Crucis\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeeking Quarter\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Fall\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso’s Back Story \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmong the Graves: Salonica\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso the Barbarian\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUp for Auction (1919)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Penny Pot\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNaso’s Last Word\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Word for Sorrow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEpilogue: The Observer Book of Wild Flowers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReferences and Notes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSources and Resources\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Salt Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51020709462359,"sku":"9781844719655","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781844719655.jpg?v=1750784159","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-word-for-sorrow-9781844719655","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}